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I graduated college with a degree in computer science and a GPA of ~3.1, and I'm currently employed full time as a software engineer.

My GPA isn't impressive, but it's not bad either. When I was looking for my first job, I was told by recruiters that a soon-to-be or recent grad should always list their GPA, or risk recruiters assuming a worse GPA than you actually have.

That makes perfect sense to me, but what about someone who has professional experience? Of course the degree should remain on the resume, but at what point is college GPA no longer relevant?

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  • I'll just comment that I did contract work after I graduated and in the IT field was never asked for my GPA. They only cared that I had a degree. If they want my GPA they can request my transcripts. I think have the time it is just an HR thing to ask for it, managers only care that you stuck it out and finished your time in college. The time I had to provide it on an application was with few government jobs, but they also had my transcripts.
    – user38604
    Jul 31, 2015 at 23:59

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This varies from industry to industry. If you were a lawyer, it's quite possible that the school and GPA will still be relevant 5, 10, 20 years on. In your industry, the majority of employers (but yes you will get exceptions), won't care beyond your first job, it is in effect counting as your experience for the role.

If you change jobs frequently in your first couple of years (either by choice or by force), then you may need it, but likely there's a bigger issue changing so frequently so soon anyway.

After a few years of experience, your degree isn't going to mean too much anyway (unless you studied at somewhere like MIT), experience will conquer all (again, yes a few employers WILL still care so YMMV, but in general).

As a hiring manager I don't even tend to look at the details of a degree in an experienced hire, I just do my own due-diligence to ensure they have the required skills.

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  • An applicant who has 10 years of experience between them and their GPA should honestly know better than to treat it as anything more than, at most, a personal achievement if it is very high (near perfect/honors status). I don't see any reason this would be different for lawyers, who have plenty of ways to demonstrate their value on a resume.
    – Air
    Jul 31, 2015 at 20:27
  • Well I did say "possible", but in top legal firms this can be an issue (not just in Suits). In the UK a GPA is just starting to become a thing, mostly it's about the class of your degree. I used to work for someone who had a first from Oxford, and even though it was about 25 years since he'd graduated he still managed to work it into any conversation (really, talk about cheese and he'd get onto Oxford), he'd be impressed by a GPA after years of experience.
    – The Wandering Dev Manager
    Jul 31, 2015 at 20:45
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    Sounds like the old joke, "How do you know someone went to Harvard? Because they'll tell you."
    – Air
    Jul 31, 2015 at 20:50
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This really depends on how good the GPA was.

At a 3.1, you are probably better off removing it once you get your first job. The higher the GPA though, the better it is to keep on your CV. A good GPA - and by good i mean a GPA that is typically listed as a minimum requirement for jobs, not being american i am unsure, but around a 3.5+? - could be kept on your CV indefinitely.

This isn't to say that a lower GPA should be ashamed or anything, just that a higher GPA can be a better advert for your candidacy.

Keep the GPA by the school you went to, so that it blends in with the overall CV.

As a final note, the recruiters are right - until you get your first job (and your first year working at thst job!) you need to show your GPA.

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  • I sometimes see minimum GPA requirements advertised with jobs, but it's usually for more old-fashioned tech companies, like Oracle, Cisco, and AT&T. Also, I once applied for a job that didn't have a GPA requirement advertised and the poorly-configured Taleo site spit out some error message related to a variable called GPA_3_0_KNOCKOUT.
    – Not My Real Profile
    Aug 2, 2015 at 19:57
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Your mileage may vary but after one job of multiple years post college, the GPA is just a bit superfluous.

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Is the job you're at currently a student intern position? If so I think GPA is fairly relevant in those kind of jobs.

In any event, I think a lot of places are catching on that knowledge is better than pure GPA. My first job out of college this person I worked with graduated the same time. He had a GPA of 2.something but yet he turned out to be the best person at the company implementing many key projects and had vast knowledge. I'm honestly sad I can't ask him questions anymore.

So no, GPA probably won't be looked at but then again probably wouldn't hurt to put it in. I don't think they'll even ask about your GPA much less even care what it is.

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  • No, as I said in the question I've graduated. I edited to clarify that it's a full time job.
    – Not My Real Profile
    Jul 31, 2015 at 20:27

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